Effective Spider Pest Control Methods

Excluding hobbyists and scientists, most people do not like having spiders around them (Spiderman is another story), most especially in their own homes. Although spiders do the least damage compared to other house pests like ants, termites and mice, spiders remain as the most detested house pest because of the number of people having phobias on them. This inexplicable fear on spiders opened the gates of the market that caters to the needs of those who want to control or exterminate them.

However, if we base everything on statistics and facts, spiders can be considered "safe" around humans. Most spiders are non-venomous while those which are venomous are also non-aggressive. In fact, spiders only bite whenever they are threatened and only do so in order to protect themselves. Nevertheless, according to US statistics, spiders can cause the death of three Americans every five years. The numbers might be low, but the fact that they are capable of killing people is still enough to encourage homeowners to exterminate them and drive them out of their homes for good.

Those who studies spider reaction towards certain chemical agents synthesized to exterminate them found out that spiders are biologically unreceptive to poisons. This unique characteristic makes spiders difficult to kill. Simply spraying pesticide to a spider will not kill it, worse, in one way or another; the sprayed spider will even develop immunity towards the pesticide used against them.

Their bellies can be easily penetrated by poisons so in order to improve the effects of the pesticide; homeowners should find a way hit the spider's belly whenever he or she sprays. If the mists from the pesticide spray only touch the other parts of the spider's body, tendency is, the pesticide will not have any effects to the spider since these arachnids do not use their mouths to groom their bodies. Thus, there will be no way for the poison to penetrate the spider's body.

Spider Control Methods

The most effective approach to control spiders (if not eliminate them permanently) is to deprive them of their major food source. Since spiders are predators, they are most probably nesting in your house because your house is also a host to many delectable insects. If you can find a way to kill the insects on which they feed on, then the spiders will leave by themselves in search for another place where food is abundant.

Spiders usually build their webs near light-sources because insects are attracted to all light-emitting objects. Insects will mindlessly rush into the light source despite the presence of the spider webs. In the end, these insects will become a tasty food for the spiders. However, not all spiders catch their prey by baiting them; some spiders actually catch their prey. These spiders are called the hunting spiders and they have stubby and short legs. They use their legs to jump into their prey. Hunting spiders with longer legs run after their prey instead of jumping over them. While it is quite easy to control the web-making spiders, when it comes to hunting spiders, the task becomes more complex.

How to Control Hunting Spiders?

Since web-making spiders spend most of their time on their webs just waiting for food to come, it becomes easier for the homeowner to simply spray pesticide directly into the spider. However, hunting spiders are more active, thus it is also difficult to hit them right when sprayed with pesticides.

Thus, it is most advised for homeowners to simply use glue traps to catch the spiders. These traps look like cardboard sheets with one surface covered with a sticky material. Some glue trap manufacturers even add scent into the sticky material to make it more attractive to spiders. However, the best way to make the spider come into the glue trap is to stick a bug on the glue trap surface.

However, since glue traps can also get struck to other things apart from the spiders (pet's tongue, child's hand, furniture, carpet, etc.), some people fold the glue traps to resemble a cardboard box. That way, the sticky surface will not be able to touch other objects except for spiders that intentionally come into it hoping to eat the bug-bait stuck on the surface.

Glue traps are most effective when placed in dark areas around the house. Hunting spiders are fonder of such places. You can place a sticky glue trap inside the closet or under the bed. You can also place traps under furniture and in between cabinets and counter-tops. Sometimes, glue traps also serve as an investigation tool. If you have placed a lot of traps around your house and one or two of the traps caught the most spiders, then there is a very big possibility that the location of the trap is a regular entry or exit points for spiders. Thus, you can begin your inspection from that area and find cracks and crevices which might have served as their entry or exit points.

Glue traps are effective in spider control because spiders do not live in big groups unlike termites, ants and mice. These arachnids prefer to live in places where food competition is low. Thus, if you found a spider or two in your house, expect that there might be just two or three of them throughout your entire place.

Spiders commonly come into houses when the environment's temperature is warm. During warm seasons, spiders struggle for food and they go into houses in search for refuge. However, during fall when the population of insects rises, spider population also comes to its peak. Spiders will again look for an indoor hibernation site when the winter season comes. Many experts agree that the presence of spiders inside our homes should be tolerated as much as possible because they can greatly benefit the environment. Moreover, spiders do not damage human food and property, they feed on insects alone. They don't come in huge numbers too, making their presence hardly felt. Experts agree that control methods should only be used when tolerance is already impossible.